Artist Statement

 

 

                              William W. Hoyt

 

                           “The Window Series”

 

                                                                                                                                               

 

                                          

 

Among my possessions as a child were two of the early pop-up books. They fascinated me as a child. I spent hours playing with them. I guess they have always been a part of me. These memories combined with the loss of inhibitions that seems to come with age prompted me to create these images that had been rolling around in my head for a couple of years.

 

 

The paintings are oil on paper. The materials include 140# watercolor paper, rag mat board, acid free foam core, glass, gessoed hardboard and basswood.

 

Conservation was a consideration in their construction. Each piece has elements of collage, assemblage, and sculpture, as well as painting.

 

 

The philosophy behind these pictures is one of disconnection. People who live in urban areas lead lives of isolation, even though they are surrounded by other people. We only connect with our immediate family, assuming they live nearby, or with us. Those we don’t see every day because of geographical distance, become just that, distant. This is a fact of our modern existence. The walls and windows in each piece represent that separation from others. It is like driving slowly by a horrific automobile accident and viewing the scene. It’s not anyone you know or love, so there is a separation there from the reality of the accident. The carnage both fascinates us and repels us at the same time. While it may disturb you for a period of time, it’s not like losing one of your own. Yet to the families involved, it will have an impact on them the rest of their lives.

 

 

The first piece in this series, “Loss” is a Gold Star Mother who has recently lost her son in the war in Iraq . Her loss is real. However his death was mentioned on the nightly news as one of three soldiers killed by a road side bomb. Most people’s reaction would be one of sympathy for the family, whoever they are. That’s too bad and he was so young to die, at least we only lost three today that’s better than some days. It is not a better day for the families who lost one of the three.

 

The second piece called "Mom's" is somewhat autobiographical. I posed for the cook (Mom). The point is not everything is what it seems. There is no Mom as such. It is a cafe name to lure customers into thinking some little old lady is cooking the food just like their Mom. I was a cook in the service and use to work with a senior cook who smoked constantly while preparing food. Ashes would drop in the food and he would say carbon is good for them, meaning the crew. Needless to say food handling rules have tighten up since the 1950's.

 

The pieces reflect the emotions in my life – universal to all who feel. The paintings reflect humor, love, loss, nostalgia, and the quirkiness of our humanity, as do all of my paintings.